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Welcome to the Sisterhood - Ep One
173 Plays5 months ago
Welcome to The Influencer Sisterhood Podcast—a safe space for women 40+ who are curious about, already in, or secretly side-eyeing the world of influencing.
In this very first episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on why this podcast exists, who it’s for, and what you can expect inside the Sisterhood. We’re talking honestly about the influencer world—the good, the awkward, the confusing, and the parts no one really explains—especially for women who didn’t grow up online but still have powerful stories, style, wisdom, and voices to share.
This podcast was created because too many midlife women feel like they’re “late,” “behind,” or “not the right age” to show up online—and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Here, we talk openly about building confidence, navigating visibility, dealing with imposter syndrome, monetizing your influence (without selling your soul), and redefining what influence actually looks like in this season of life.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- Why having a safe, judgment-free space for 40+ women matters
- What we’re not talking about (no hustle culture, no comparison spirals)
- Why transparency and real conversations are the foundation of this podcast
- Our hopes for this community—and how I want you to feel when you listen
- How the Sisterhood is about connection, not competition
If you’ve ever thought “I want to do more, but I don’t know where I fit”—this is for you.
Welcome to the Sisterhood. You belong here. 💛
Sister Shoutouts this week:
@the.style.era
@dearbrookes
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Influencer Sisterhood
00:00:06
Speaker
Hey, I'm Leslie. Hi, I'm Lauren. And we're the Influencer Sisterhood. Your weekly coffee date for real, unfiltered conversations about life as a midlife influencer.
00:00:17
Speaker
No gatekeeping, no fluff. We're two women at different stages of the journey, sharing the wins, the struggles, and everything in between. This is safe space where all influencers belong.
00:00:29
Speaker
So grab your drink, get comfy. Welcome to the sisterhood. Let's dive in to this week's episode.
00:00:40
Speaker
Welcome to the very first episode of the Influencer Sisterhood podcast. We are so excited to finally have this launched so that we can bring you real, unfiltered conversations about social media influencing without the gatekeeping. Whether you're just thinking about getting started or already growing your brand or just nosy about what this whole thing is about, you're in the right place.
00:01:02
Speaker
Okay, so I'm super excited.
Leslie and Lauren's Influencer Journeys
00:01:04
Speaker
My name is Lauren, Lauren Ogs G on social media. And i am a 54-year-old retired special education teacher who's been on this social media influencing ride journey for about 18 months. And I'm Leslie, and I am a photographer, but a very new 50-year-old trying to be an influencer in this world of influencing. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it, and I've done it for about six months now. So I'm on a completely different side of this journey. Yeah, and one of the reasons we wanted to talk about who we are right away is because we really met thinking about
00:01:47
Speaker
needing some sort of community.
The Importance of Community in Influencing
00:01:50
Speaker
Leslie reached out to me and said, i think if I quote her exactly, if I remember correctly, it was, hey, any tips or tricks for a newbie? And I'm like, well, yeah, actually. and so in all reality, I was the only person who responded to her. and That's what I was about to say. i was like, well, I did message quite a few people who all ignored me and you answered, which is why we became fast friends. yes You know, fast forward, that's been, I guess it was like August, I guess. And we're recording this right now in February.
00:02:23
Speaker
So we've actually had this on our hearts since about October, November, because we started thinking about more people really need to know about Everybody has these questions. There's such a stigma and this like secrecy that's sort of shrouding this whole world of influencer hood and content creation. And it seems like there's really nobody to talk to and it can be extremely isolating. Right. Yeah. And it's almost like you're kind of, at least for me, as being the one that reached out, I honestly was scared to reach out because I didn't know how people would take it. I mean, I come from a background of photography and sometimes photographers are great about sharing things and sometimes they're not.
00:03:08
Speaker
I think anytime you kind of approach sometimes a woman with questions about something they do, there is that little bit of how willing are they to share because they're probably don't want you copying or they don't want you, you know, they had to work hard to get it. and i get it. But at the same time, we also should support each other. Right. Right. It's not competition. And I think many women in general have a fear that someone is going to steal our spotlight. Yeah. hotlight And that there's not enough room for all of us. And that's just not the case. Well, you know this story. i mean, i got blocked by somebody who I thought was an actual friend because i started posting influencer type stuff.
Creating a Supportive Influencer Space
00:03:52
Speaker
And so does she. and
00:03:55
Speaker
All of a sudden I was blocked and I was like, okay, so that kind of kept me from reaching out. But there's so much I didn't know and I'm not trying to steal ideas or or find out some secret that I, I don't know, should know for some reason. But you were kind enough to share tips and tricks. You didn't give me the ins and outs of everything that you've ever done, but you opened a conversation. And I think that's kind of where we're coming from the sisterhood is why can't there be an open conversation? What do you got to lose? That's exactly right. And I think we actually have a lot to gain from it and not lose because if you think about it, it seems like once you reach, if you look around, it seems, at least this is the stereotype. Once you reach a certain level, whatever that level may be that people assume, that at that point, these doors all open and you have a group of friends who bounce ideas off each other and meet and get together and make content together. And somebody to ask and say, hey, a brand reached out to me. And is this legit? Is this not legit? Is this normal? i posted this and it seems like all of a sudden my followers have just gone away and I'm not growing. What am I doing wrong? Am I crazy? And the truth of the matter is you don't have to wait until you reach a certain level, because what happens is people quit way before then because there's no support. And the vast majority, in my opinion, the vast majority of people who are in this content creation space are people like us with anywhere from zero followers to a hundred thousand followers. 100,000 followers or more. And there's no home for us. And that's what we wanted to bring and provide for this community. And that is really why we started this podcast. Absolutely. I know when I first started in photography, talking to your friends who aren't photographers, or in our case, influencers, talking to your friends who aren't in this influencer world, they don't really get what it is you do, right? They don't understand it in a way a fellow influencer might. So just having someone to talk to that actually understands what it is you're doing and you can complain to, or you can ask advice from, or you can vent to, or whatever the case may be, i do think that continue like helps you continue because you're right. Too many people quit because they don't feel seen or heard or supported in any way. So Absolutely. We hope that this podcast at least opens those doors. You guys can always contact us. Lauren for sure will answer you because she answered me.
00:06:39
Speaker
yeah And I think that Leslie's absolutely right about this. And what we hope to bring, one is for you to have a place where you can feel seen and heard, like she said.
00:06:51
Speaker
Two, for you to have a place, a resource that these are common things and issues, questions that influencers, content creators have. And also an understanding that it doesn't matter what your follower count is, you belong here. And we also want to provide a place where we can showcase new up-and-coming influencers, smaller accounts who might not feel like they are seen. But it's a place where you can actually gain followers because we're going to talk about what you're doing well and why people should follow you. And so each week we're going to have a section called Sister Shoutout.
00:07:33
Speaker
And it's a little segment where we talk about what somebody else is doing really, really well. And that's a great way to follow other people to get ideas because that's a huge part too, is feeling like you're running out of ideas. I don't know if that's something, I that's going something we talk about a lot.
00:07:48
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. I mean, constantly coming up with content is what being a content creator is all about.
The Challenge of Content Creation
00:07:54
Speaker
But sometimes you have those brain, was going to say brain fart.
00:07:59
Speaker
I mean, can I say that on podcast? I guess I can. I think that's probably tame for a podcast, but yeah. yeah yeah True. But you know what mean? Like you just run out of ideas. Oh, God, what do I post today? And even just like trying to figure out what your niche in this world is, you know, and being able to have someone objectively look at what you've done, because Lauren's done this for me and say, well, you're really good at XYZ. You should hone in on that. Right. And just that advice, just knowing someone's out there rooting for you and helping you along the way. know, isn't that what a sisterhood is all about? Absolutely. And Leslie and I have talked about this.
00:08:39
Speaker
Our desire is for this to feel like you're basically sitting in on like a fly on the wall of our conversations because we had Marco Polos that we go back and forth with for a long time. It was just in DMs and they were like it was like, OK, maybe we need to like to take this out of the DMs. And so we joke about the fact that it's kind of like, you know, we were like on a blind date, but we weren't. But we were like very quickly became good friends because we just needed to feel like somebody else understood. So we just hope that this is casual. It's relaxed.
00:09:11
Speaker
It is a place where you feel like you're just talking to your friends where you can kick it back. I've got my coffee. I've got my Yeti out down here with iced tea. My dogs are doing their thing. Yeah, do. I know. It's like, this is what we do, right? So yeah I'm going to just like relax a little bit. I'm feeling like way entirely too uptight for what it is we're trying to do. Because the reality is we're all learning something new.
00:09:39
Speaker
And this is you watching us or listening to us, if you're not watching it. In case you don't know, we do have a YouTube channel. So this is actually recorded where you can see us. So if you're not watching on YouTube and you're just listening to us, that's fine too. But just understand that we're really trying to lean into the comfortable, relaxed vibe and that we're trying something new ourselves. Now, Leslie has a podcast for her seniorology senior photography business.
00:10:08
Speaker
But her podcast is very, very different than what we're doing. And so this is a huge departure for Leslie to do it in this respect. I've never done a podcast at all. So that's
Midlife Influencer Diversity
00:10:19
Speaker
completely new. If you could only have seen us trying to figure out how to record this when she knows what she's doing. But on my end, I have no office. I have no setup one day.
00:10:30
Speaker
So my hope, and I know Leslie's too, because we've talked about it enough, is that you can maybe see a little bit of yourself in us. And maybe it just gives you the confidence, really not the confidence, but the courage to yes say, hey,
00:10:46
Speaker
If they can do this, so can I. And they're doing it imperfectly. And that's good. So I'm all about the imperfect. Yes, exactly. Well, OK, so that's a little bit about what the podcast is about. Let's take it back for our listeners how we met. We briefly touched on the fact that I DM'd you, but we do like to joke about the fact that it was like we met online And that sounds like we met in a dating app, but really we met through Instagram, which is both of our main places to post content, right? It is. And I think for women in midlife, this can be really odd for us. Now, if we are younger and that's kind of the thing too that I want to make sure we talk about is we're both over 50. I'm a little bit older than Leslie, but not. just turned 50. I'm 54. So, you know, we're your Gen Xers. Right.
00:11:39
Speaker
We didn't grow up with social media. It doesn't become second nature to us. Like it maybe, you know, my kids, well, I have boys. They're not as into social, but still. Right. I have two stepdaughters and they are way into social. They're way into it. Yeah. Way into it.
00:11:52
Speaker
So I think it's really important that you understand if you're listening and you feel like hey, I don't know how to do this. I don't understand this whole Instagram thing. I just recently got into it. Like I sort of understand, like I know what a DM is, but I'm not even really sure how to make a reel. Like, or if you're somebody who is farther along in that process, only because you started doing it, because that's really how you learn that you belong here. This is a place for you because we were those people too. Leslie's little more tech savvy than I am.
00:12:26
Speaker
However, you know, I'm self-taught. And so for me, Instagram was a whole like mysterious little world that I was all comfortable about Facebook. i mean, Facebook was my world. And so. And that is definitely an age thing, I think, you know, because Facebook was our first venture into the social media world.
00:12:46
Speaker
It really was. And it's Facebook is a place where at least historically we saw people who looked like us. And Instagram was for the young girls. And, you know, maybe our kids or, our you know, our babysitters or whoever, you know, who were younger.
00:13:02
Speaker
And that wasn't what we were about. Well, guess what? It is what we're about now. And influencing... seeing people who look like us. And that is why there's room for everybody because we are all different. We have things that are similarities and commonalities between each other.
00:13:20
Speaker
However, each one of us has our own unique light and take on things that needs to be shown. And we are now seeing that there are other people like us on Instagram. So it's okay to come and like take your step your little toe into this world of Instagram. And it's my hope that we will demystify that a little bit for each other. And Leslie's helped me a lot in the Instagram non-real space. And what I mean by that is... I learned how to make a reel, how to put content out that way, fashion content. And we can talk about how we each ended up in our niche as well. I learned how to do all of that. But there's like so much more that's possible.
00:14:04
Speaker
And since we have started talking, I've learned about the world outside of that, like podcasts. But right women in midlife are represented on TikTok, YouTube. Obviously, there's Pinterest, which I have not really delved into so much. But it's like we finally arrived.
00:14:23
Speaker
And I think there are a lot of people who look like us and act like us on Instagram. Well, and you know what I think is so funny is i actually, for years before I started this influencer journey, which I like to call myself a wannabe influencer because I am so
Fashion as Self-Expression and Confidence
00:14:42
Speaker
new to it. But before I started, i had a group of other photographers that I chatted with about, gosh, you know, i help all my senior high school, senior clients with what to wear. I also love fashion myself. Why aren't there women our age being influencers? Because at the time i wasn't seeing them. but The funny thing is, is when I started this journey, I started seeing so many more out there that I didn't know existed. So there's a whole slew of people that share all kinds of different things, fashion, recipes, interior design, But they're all midlife women who are finding their, what they're good at, what they like and sharing it with the world. And it's just like having a girlfriend via social media because who, I mean, I love information. So the more I can get, the better I am. So I love to see, well, what are you wearing and what are you doing? And all those things. So there are quite a lot of women our age doing what we're doing. But that just means more can do it, too. There's room for everybody. That's absolutely correct. And it's funny to me that I'm actually a fashion influencer and I do this because it just cracks me up. I mean, I have made a successful business out of this. This is my full time livelihood. I left teaching. And I'm able, gratefully, to be able to do this, it still cracks me up that I'm able to do this because I really did not have style. I did not think I did. and I think that's what's so funny is that I think many of us feel like we don't qualify. for whatever it is that we want to do. And I lost a lot of weight. So I was trying to figure out how to dress my body. I knew how to dress a larger body. I knew how to dress for a body that was gaining weight and losing weight.
00:16:29
Speaker
And it turns out that people wanted to know what that was. And right for me, I started that because i was selling my own clothes because I needed to make room in my closet, which is comical at this point because there is no closet. My home is my closet. But, you know, and I've had a whole closet full of clothes that I wore like five things, but I had a whole bunch of clothes that I wanted to sell.
00:16:49
Speaker
And actually I was just going to give them away. My husband's like, could you just make a little money off of those? Like they some them still have tags. So I started selling them to my friends on Facebook. And that is how I was sort of springboarded into this world that I never anticipated ever doing. And my style honestly has evolved since I started this 18 months ago. Like, I dress completely more confidently. And I was going to say differently. It's not really differently. It's just I have a level of confidence in how I dress now that I didn't before because I forced myself to try on new things that I never had before. Right. Ever.
00:17:30
Speaker
Color is a whole thing for me. I was all about black because if you wore black, that was the slimming thing. Well, because that's what you use to dress your body, right? Because everybody says black is slimming and I don't care what size you are. That is an element of, I mean, yes, black is slimming, right? yeah So some people get in that comfort zone of wearing black. I mean, there's a girl in my town that owns a boutique that sells crazy colorful clothing, but she, I don't think has ever worn anything but a black top and black pants. And that's her style. But that's the thing. There's somebody.
00:18:04
Speaker
so sorry. wow you are not attack my dog Just literally busted on up in my lap. And he is a. I love it. I love it. Yeah, that's the kind of stuff you're going to get with us is dogs. Normally mine's in my lap, but he's not. here's to like The point is, is there are so many different styles out there. You don't have to be vogue, high fashion to have style. Everyday style for what works for your body is your style. And that's what you were showing. You know, do you find that since you started this, that you get dressed more often than maybe you did before you started this?
00:18:42
Speaker
That is a great question. And the answer is yes. And really, when I first started, i was teaching. It coincided with the beginning of a school year for me. My life for over 20 years was teaching and I would get up every day and go to work. And so I worked on school calendar years, you know. you so i dress Yes. And i had be dressed every day. So I just started sharing what I was wearing every day.
00:19:08
Speaker
Well, once I started doing this full time, I realized while that was fabulous and I'm still glad I did, I'm doing it. It was really hard because I realized I didn't have a reason to put something on. Like I thought, you know, when I'm going to work, I have a reason to put this outfit on.
00:19:28
Speaker
Well, if I'm just at home, what am I putting on? Why am I putting it on? And I realized, though, that I needed the structure of getting up and getting dressed every day. And I think that's hard for a lot of women, you know, especially in midlife where our roles are changing. We maybe have been a mom for all the years. You're an empty nester. You know, it's like your entire life for 18 years or 20 years.
00:19:51
Speaker
years with both boys, 21 years is to realize like you would have to get up and help get them out. So right your life was surrounding, you know, about what they're going to do and how you help them be successful in life and to get them to A and B and this practice and that practice and whatever.
00:20:09
Speaker
And you were just sort of here and there. And, but then they're off both off at college when your second one went to college and you and Dan, your husband are home by yourself and your dog, Henry. But it's like, now what? Yeah. Like, what do I do? And that's the case. work from home. So truth be told, I could sit in my pajamas all day because so much of my job is sitting in front of a computer editing photos and not seeing anybody. So I literally could stay in my pajamas all day. But there is something that helps your mindset. And I'm not a huge woo-woo mindset person. You'll learn that about me. I'm not at all.
00:20:47
Speaker
But there is something to getting dressed every day, whether you have somewhere to go or not, because there's something about, I mean, listen, I would stay in my pajamas all day. I'm not going to lie because it's comfy, but you also don't necessarily feel as great about yourself if you're just in your pajamas all day, right? So even when you stopped working, you still made yourself get dressed every day.
00:21:09
Speaker
Because you do feel a little more productive. You do feel a little bit more put together. There just is something like fashion is a little bit deeper than just throwing on a shirt and pair your pants, right?
00:21:21
Speaker
What does fashion, speaking of, what does fashion mean to you? What do you love about fashion? That's a really great question. i don't know that fashion meant anything to me that I thought of. Until one day I woke up and realized, because I got up and got dressed every day because I was doing this and filming it and talking about it, that it is deeper than what you put on. I feel better.
00:21:43
Speaker
I feel more put together. I feel more confident walking out of my house. I am more comfortable showing up for everyone in my life when I fixed my hair right or put something on that mattered to me, that made me feel like me. And that has, I think for me, what fashion means is that it's not a one-time thing. We don't necessarily just have a style. My style evolves and,
00:22:15
Speaker
My style has evolved over the last 18 months. It's evolved over my whole life. And I am realizing the impact that getting up and getting dressed, which is fashion, has on me and my ability to try new things like fashion.
00:22:35
Speaker
It's an expression. And I hear people would, I remember people would always say like fashion is self-expression. And I was always like, well, okay, what does that even mean? And I don't know that it matters except when you one day wake up and realize the person who used to get up and get dressed is and not want to be seen.
00:22:54
Speaker
And I dressed to not be seen. Right. So for me, fashion was, was a cover. It was a disguise. It was something to hide behind. And i dressed to blend, to blend in.
00:23:09
Speaker
And that's indicative of how I felt about myself. And I can look back now at pictures when I allowed myself to be in pictures and and see just how I felt about myself, about myself by what I had on.
00:23:27
Speaker
I had no idea just how much i used what I wore or didn't wear based on how I felt inside. And now I have so much more confidence to show up and be seen.
Embracing Personal Style and Confidence
00:23:44
Speaker
And by showing up, it means really to me being seen. Because in that to me, color is like, it's like living your life in black and white and then living it in color. There is something to that. And I lived so many years of my life in black and white. And I think black and white is beautiful.
00:24:00
Speaker
However, when I'm talking about like just gray, just and not gray as a color, but gray as dull, you know, my whole world, my life, my personality was dulled. And if you see me now, when people walk up and see me and who haven't seen me in a while, they are like taken aback, but in a good way.
00:24:24
Speaker
People who have known me for years are like, this is who you are. And we knew this. You just didn't know it. Right, right. And fashion's helped you showcase that, showcase the real you. And I definitely think fashion can be a confidence booster. I think getting dressed every day, can help your mood and even your productivity. I think it can help express who you are. i think it can also be something like functional, like many people may be listening and they have small kids and maybe they're just getting dressed to take kids places. And I did that for many years. But then when you get to be our age, age is a thing that messes with your head a little bit. But if you can find a style that helps you feel whatever age you feel inside, i think that's powerful. Because i don't necessarily feel 50. I actually kind of still think I'm in the twenty s but ah
00:25:21
Speaker
I hope I don't necessarily dress like that, although there probably are times I wear things. I do remember the very first troll I ever got as an influencer told me I dressed too young for my age. And I was like, well, first of all, how old do you, like, you don't know how old I am. I guess it was obvious. I don't know. i But I mean, you know, but it can be powerful. It can be more than just putting on a shirt and a pair of pants, right? um It can certainly just be that too. But I'm with you on the whole, your style changes for what area you are in your life or what phase you are in your life. And for you, for a long time, you were in that phase of wanting to blend in. And then you went through a transformation of losing all the weight and really kind of becoming who you were always. You were always this person. fashion just helped you along the journey. And now you get to share that with other people, which I think is really cool.
00:26:11
Speaker
I think you're absolutely right. And I think the journey is for me. And I know I'm a lot more woo-woo than Leslie. You know, I, which i think what's another great thing about this podcast is you get both of us, right? It's not just one side. And is that for me, the journey is what matters. And this has allowed me to do that. And I think...
00:26:33
Speaker
Being age appropriate, I also get a few trolls, which I think we'll get into in a minute about the things that a lot of us face. And I imagine we will have an entire episode on how to deal with negativity and positivity. There's both. Right. But like, how do you deal with all the feedback you get? Which is a whole other thing. And we need to, you know, we can touch on it, but we will do, I'm sure, an entire episode on that at some point. But I do think a lot of women, I'm tall. That's another thing about Leslie and me is she's 5'1", I'm 5'8", and we have put together a series that we do pretty much weekly. called like petite versus tall. And we will find an item that we both wear and people can see it on different body types because not everybody who follows you looks like you and wants to know, hey, oh, okay, that's how that works. And I think that I have a lot of women who will say to me, ooh that's too short.
00:27:30
Speaker
Like, why are you wearing that? So short. And I'm like, girl, for so many years, the only thing I had going for me were my legs. Like, and they were not small, but they were at least long. And so like, you know, that whole idea of dressing for like showcase the part of you that's like whatever I would always end up with wearing and they weren't like super short by any stretch.
00:27:51
Speaker
But for me, I felt better if I had my legs could show, but then the rest of me was covered if I was going to show anything, you know. Right. And they could be shown with black tights, but they were still shown. And so, you know, that's certainly something that I think. There's a whole misconception about what's age appropriate. And I think in life, one of the things that I've realized is that and was so empowering to me when I heard somebody say, it's not about what's age appropriate, it's what's you appropriating. Right. Yes. Oh, yeah, exactly. absolutely Who gets to tell me what I can wear? Right. Well, you can wear whatever you want to wear. I yeah absolutely. But there are definite styles that fit for your body type versus my body type. I don't always get it right. I don't know if you do or not. No, I definitely don't. You know, that's what's fun about fashion. i mean, i mean, do we want to go through our fashion mistakes? I've made tons of them, right? Like tons of them over the years. Are you kidding? But it's OK. I mean, you what mean? It's OK. It was, you know, a fashion blunder once in a while. And I don't necessarily always get it right. But I buy things that I feel like and wear are things that I feel like fit my style, which let's go over style. My style is a little bit of everything. I don't I'm definitely not someone who wears a uniform every day.
00:29:12
Speaker
I'm not going to wear the exact same shirt and pants every day. Some days I'm going to wear color like I have on now. Some days I'm going to wear black. Some days I'm going to wear expensive. Some days I'm going wear cheap. Some days I'm going to wear in between. every day you're going to have on an Aviator Nation sweatsuit.
00:29:28
Speaker
If can wear an Aviator Nation sweatsuit every day, i actually would because it's the most comfortable thing ever. It's not flattering. It is definitely not flattering. But it is comfy. Yeah. but okay. So my style little bit all over the place. Sometimes I dress too young. Sometimes I dress older. It really, to me, depends on, i don't know if you feel this way, but I have this idea in my head about whatever it is I'm going to do and what I think goes with that. Like if I'm going somewhere with my kids, I mean, i have two boys, they're 18 and 21, not necessarily going to wear the sluttiest looking outfit in front of my 21 and 18 year old, right? Like,
00:30:08
Speaker
But if I'm going out with girlfriends, i might wear something a little, I mean, you know, mean, I might wear something a little more tight or whatever, right? So I do think style also comes from where you're going, right? i mean, if I'm going to meet a teacher, i'm probably going be a little more buttoned up than if I'm going out with my husband or whatever, you know? So to me, I think it evolves and it's very dependent on where you're going. I mean, do you feel like that about style? I think you put a lot more thought into it than I do. If I'm being honest, that could be true like I just don't. And I mean, I obviously think about it, but I don't think about it in the same way. Yeah. And that's just your brain and my brain are very different and they work very differently. And I think more about, well, and how I think now, because I do this for a living is totally different than how I felt before I did this for a living. Right. Before it was what's comfortable, what works for like the event, but it wasn't even really like the event. It was more like, what do I have in my closet? What is clean?
00:31:11
Speaker
What do I not have to steam or iron, which is like entirely different from my life now. And i would say, what did I not wear last? But that's not the case either, because I would just wear the same thing. So I really did wear a lot of the same thing. because i probably would not wear the same thing. know. It's funny.
00:31:25
Speaker
and Well, now I don't because I have to film it. And so in terms of like being an influencer, like one of the realities of being a fashion influencer is that I need to film what I'm wearing because it's content and we need content.
00:31:43
Speaker
So, you know, I have to think about that right now. So in terms of like my style, I think, I think if I were to ask Leslie what my style is, she would say shirt dress. And it is but true. I love a good shirt dress. I love a dress. But you know what? The good thing about a shirt dress, Lauren, is it really works for every body type out there, no matter what. Like it's a great classic piece. They can be, ah I just bought one that's kind of got a little more trend to it because that's a little more my style than your style, but it really works for all different styles. So I think a shirt dress is a fabulous piece for anybody listening out there. I agree with that. And I think Leslie's style is a little bit more edgy than mine. But to an edgy person, it's probably not edgy at all. Correct. To mine. If you notice, I'm like in a little cardigan with a white tee, if you're watching. If you're not, I have on a fitted white t-shirt with a bright colored green and teal, very conservative looking cardigan. And, you know, it's in style, thank God. But... but You know, I mean, it's pretty conservative. My dress in general is probably fairly conservative, but I do have a bit of a, I don't know. i think I have a little boho in there and never thought that I did. But looking back, I think I do.
00:33:08
Speaker
I thought that I was more tailored and classic, but really I'm pretty relaxed, right? I think comfort is often part of what I think about when I think about what I'm putting on is what am I comfortable in?
00:33:22
Speaker
And do you think that that comes with the age or stage of life you're in I think so. yeah I do. I think that being comfortable is important. I'm not going to wear something that gives me blisters. on my right on my feet. Now I would have when I was younger, 100%, right? Like how many things did I buy and just be miserable the entire night and then struggle because i had blisters for a week after? Well, I can still remember what popped in my head as soon as you said that is I had this so cute dress. When I was in college and it was like this black floral, super cute dress. And I had these like Mary Jane high heels and they were so cute, but they hurt like nobody's business. And I remember being so insistent that I wear those once I got to the bar in front of people.
00:34:14
Speaker
But I took other shoes, like I lived in a big city, which I never have, like, you know, where the women are walking with the shoes and their actual heels are in the thing. That was me going to a bar. OK, wanted to wear the shoes so bad that I could only limit myself to wearing them for in the bar. Yeah, shoes are rough. I got to tell you, for me, so I have. The most sensitive feet, I get blisters so easily.
00:34:41
Speaker
And that is a huge thing about my style that has changed over the year and a half, for sure, since I've been doing this. I wore the same pair of shoes every day, every day. And now because I want to show more options and I think of, oh, this would be cute with this or I saw somebody else wear it with that.
00:34:58
Speaker
I'm always on the hunt for finding something that is in style and looks good, but it's also comfortable. right So that's different than I used to do, but I'm not going to totally sacrifice the look for comfort.
00:35:09
Speaker
Like, I mean, in my day to day life. Yeah. But yeah, because i when when you reach a certain you're, I do think there's a level of not caring to make an impression as much as maybe when I was 20 and carrying the heels because I needed to look cute in the bar versus now i'm not necessarily wearing it to impress people.
Fashion Trends and Comfort
00:35:30
Speaker
I do want to be stylish, but I'm with you. I think comfort is key and thank God tennis shoes are in style. Yeah.
00:35:36
Speaker
Oh my God. Right. You know, thinking about that the other day. I thought, what am I going to do when? Yeah. When they're not the thing. Right. Like this is because i if you follow me, you know, i am always putting on tennis shoes with a dress, like always just in general. That is like the story of my life. And so thank God they're in style. Now, you know I don't know, maybe hope they're always in style. And if they're not, there's going to have to be something that gives me another. i don't know that I can go back to wearing heels. However, from a photographer standpoint, I will point this out.
00:36:11
Speaker
So I take photos of high school seniors. Tennis shoes with dresses is a trend for them, just like it is for us in our age group. However, in a photo, not necessarily most flattering. You are correct because, not because, but you're right. You took my photos for some brand photos that we did.
00:36:29
Speaker
And one of my outfit choices was a long maxi skirt and I wore some leopard tennis shoes with it. That is the least used photo.
00:36:41
Speaker
Those photos in that outfit are the least used. And I thought they would have been the most used. And Everybody who was with us that day, and there were like, what, eight of us, seven of us, yeah they all were like, oh my God, I love that outfit. Right. It was the most liked outfit. yeah And it was the most comfortable outfit. It was the least shown now in the photographs because you're right. So Leslie does know what she's talking about.
00:37:06
Speaker
Sometimes. yes But that brings us back to the point of how fashion can transform your confidence, your attitude, the way you feel. Because even though they were the most comfortable and very cute, and it was a great outfit, in a photo, a heel would have given you just that tiny bit of confidence.
00:37:27
Speaker
Because you're not walking around in them, so you don't have to worry about the blisters. You're standing still taking a photo. But the transformation on someone's face that I see as the photographer when they go from ah sort of a chunky tennis shoe thing to a heel that elevates them.
00:37:44
Speaker
It's crazy. mean, you can instantly see it change. Now, would you wear that in everyday life? Probably not. But for that photo, I definitely think fashion has a way of helping you be confident in front of the camera because you stand differently in a heel than shoe.
00:38:00
Speaker
Yeah. And you know, it's funny because you were talking about you wouldn't want to walk in them. And I'm thinking, yeah, I almost couldn't walk in. a We're like hiking around Nashville where we're taking these pictures.
00:38:12
Speaker
yeah And when I tell you I'm like a half a block behind everybody because they don't look that high, but they were legit the highest, most uncomfortable. Yeah. They're in my pile to donate because they're adorable and they were gifted, which was fantastic. I lie. One was gifted, one was not. They were the same boots, different colors, but they look great in photos. They really do. But I literally, I could not walk. like I thought I was going to break my ankle. I really thought I was going to fall on the cobblestone street. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, i can't walk in them today like I used to be able to. I remember, I mean, this is totally getting off on a shoe tangent here, but i do remember that when I started my business as a photographer and had started making some money, you know, taking photos,
00:38:58
Speaker
I was hell bent on buying a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. I wanted the red bottom. I wanted the actual shoe. Okay. Did not have anywhere to wear them to, but that was like a reward for all my hard work. Like I was like, I'm going to get this. So I was going to Vegas. I saved up and saved up and saved up because they're not cheap.
00:39:18
Speaker
And they have a Christian Louboutin store in Vegas. And I was like, that's what I'm doing. I'm going straight there. i'm going to buy these shoes. I was going to buy the black pumps because they would last forever. and go with everything. and I got in the store, put one of them on my foot and immediately took it off and left the store. did i They hurt so bad.
00:39:39
Speaker
Literally just standing there. I feel like you're saying literally. no I was like, oh, you said literally. Yeah. that Standing there with that one shoe on, I was like, nope, $700 saved. Yay.
00:39:51
Speaker
I did not get them. I've never had them since because they hurt so bad. And I'm very sorry to Christian Louboutin if you're listening, but your shoes hurt. I know. I'm sorry. The dogs are going
Authenticity and Supporting Influencers
00:40:00
Speaker
to bark. because Are you getting a delivery for your influencing fashion content? I'd love to say yes, because it could actually be true soon. But right now it's the garbage man. No fun. No packages being delivered. but it will happen. This is why the dogs were going to go to camp when I recorded this, but unfortunately that didn't happen. So that's okay. That's, that's real life. This is real this podcast is all about real life, sharing secrets, having a chat about anything and everything to do with influencing fashion, midlife, empty nesting, being a step mom to two teen girls, whatever.
00:40:40
Speaker
Okay, this is one of our favorite parts of the show. It's time for our sister shout out. Each week, we each share a fellow influencer who is standing out. We'll tell you what she's doing so well, why her content stands out, and why you need to hit that follow button.
00:40:56
Speaker
Because supporting each other is what the sisterhood is all about. And when one of us shines, it lights the way for the rest of us. My sister shout out this week is Erica McMahon and she is the style era.
00:41:10
Speaker
And the reason I love following her is she's a new account, but she shows up every day. She is, has a very specific niche. She is a house of color spring. So if you've ever had your colors done,
00:41:23
Speaker
She has, and she is actually in the process, I think, of getting certified to be able to do that. But she shows content that is very specific. It is a certain type of clothing. it Actually, it's just about anything, but it's what she wears. But a lot of it is comfortable.
00:41:41
Speaker
They're sets. I love that stuff that I wear. And I know she's tall. She's five ten I'm So if it fits her and it's her height, I know it's probably going to work for me.
00:41:52
Speaker
And I know because I'm a house of color spring that if she's showing it and she shows everything by color, and we'll talk about the fact that it's the this color in our color fan or whatever. And so I know that everything she shows is going to likely fit me.
00:42:08
Speaker
It's going to be in um a wide, she goes from affordable to a little bit of a splurge. So it's not all looks for less. She's got boutique and designer items, but they are going to work for me because they're my color palette, they're my style, and they're going to fit me.
00:42:23
Speaker
And I know if I go to her account, I know exactly what I'm going to get. And that is what followers are looking for. People who are exactly what they want and they know where to go find it. And she is that for me. Well, I will definitely have to go check her out, even though I'm not a spring, I don't think. I don't know, I need to get my colors. But still, I like colors, so I think that sounds like a great person to follow. Okay, so my sister shout out is Dear Brooks.
00:42:48
Speaker
I discovered her not too long ago. She is our age bracket. And to me, she just is, first all, she's super cute, but also she's just like cool girl casual. Like I just, I like it. Like I like, it's not necessarily the way I dress, but it inspires me to dress that way. And I really, really like it. She's showing up every day. She's fun and seems like she'd be super nice to hang out with. Like, I feel like I can, feel like I could be friends with her. You know what I mean? And to me, that's kind of I think I followed people for two reasons. Number one, one, that I think I can be friends with them. Like I feel like I kind of know their personality. mean, she lets you in. She's vulnerable. She talks about sometimes she doesn't know what she's doing and sometimes she does kind of thing. Like how she edits her videos and I like her style because it's different than mine. But then I also feel like I follow people that have maybe a style I probably will never have, but it's like so far removed from me that I just, think it's interesting. So those are kind of people I follow. was two different types of people, people that I feel like I could be friends with. And then people that I feel like, like I'm going to another shout out, but do you follow Megan? Oh yeah. Megan's last name, but like Megan's style is amazing.
00:44:03
Speaker
I could never dress that way every day. have no desire to get that dressed up every day, but I love it. I think it's fabulous. So that would be the other type of person that I follow. But my sister shout out for real for this episode is Dear Brooks. And we will link both of their Instagrams, our sister shout outs. And this is just us following people and wanting other people to follow along because we like what they have to share. So that's kind of where we're coming from with that sister shout out because we want to support it. And I think it's important to know why we like them. And that's why we want to tell you that, because we want you to know when we are following people, what it is we think they are doing well that makes people follow them and want to follow them and why you should. And so those are, it's like taking all the things we've talked about and then here's somebody who's doing this part really well. Right.
00:44:51
Speaker
Absolutely. Because if you're like me and you don't know what you're doing, sometimes trying to figure out how and why you get followers, Right. I think that's always going to be, that's the age old question that no matter how far along you are, you pretty much are still asking that question. Yeah. Yeah. And it's a journey. like but yeah It's absolutely a journey. And then it's one you have to keep doing to find that perfect balance of what you share with your followers. So We hope that you guys liked our first episode. It was a really long one. I don't know that they'll always be this long because that's a lot to listen to. But maybe you're, you know, driving or taking a walk with your dog or drinking your morning coffee or walking on the treadmill or whatever. And we hope that we've provided a little bit of information, inspiration and sisterhood. Absolutely. We are so excited that we are here and we are finally actually recording this and not just talking about it.
00:45:45
Speaker
And i hope you watch us do this imperfectly and are inspired to try something for yourself. and give us some grace in what we're doing. And yeah, I'm super excited to continue to be on this journey with you, Leslie. I think it's awesome. And I can't wait to watch where this ends.
00:46:05
Speaker
Absolutely. So until next week, we'll see you then. Alrighty, bye.
00:46:23
Speaker
Thank you.